316. Editorial Note
On January 5, 1955, at the 230th meeting of the National Security Council, during a discussion of national security policy, President Eisenhower, in response to Secretary of the Treasury Humphrey’s comments on the need to progressively reduce United States economic aid on a worldwide basis, raised the question of Turkey. According to the memorandum of discussion, the President made the following comments:
“The President, turning to Secretary Humphrey, said that the real criterion with respect to the level of US economic assistance was the security advantage which the United States obtained. He pointed out that US economic assistance to Turkey was the best possible way to buttress our security interests in the Near Eastern area. Moreover, it was much better and cheaper to assist the Turks to build up their own armed forces than to create additional US divisions.” (Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, NSC Records)